Redesigned Holy Cross dining hall offers new options

The newly renovated Kimball Main Dining Hall at College of the Holy Cross College in Worcester opened for the fall semester with an exciting lineup of new dining options for students.

A meal plan, designed exclusively for the Holy Cross faculty, administrators and staff, is also new to Kimball Main Dining Hall, according to Lynn Cody, marketing coordinator for dining at the college.

The grand opening with ribbon cutting is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sept. 9.

I was among students, staff and faculty who recently attended a soft opening of the renovated facility. It was a Table Hoppin' moment.

Guests sampled food from the various food stations and schmoozed along the way. Everyone appeared very happy with the new menus featuring world cuisine, brick-oven pizza, a super-food-inspired station, handcrafted deli sandwiches and made-to-order-style cooking.

Cody said this is the first renovation to the "servery" in more than 20 years. Kimball was built in 1932, and the tables in the dining room are the original ones from that year, she said.

An average 2,200 customers (students, etc.) are served from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. The dining hall seats 823.

Food stations in the new space include Classic/Entrée, Breakfast, Grill, Pasta, Soup, Pizza, Deli, Salad Bar (also includes a fruit and yogurt bar with granola and the recent addition of fruit-infused, filtered water) and Dessert (made daily in the campus bakery, the Kimball Sweet Shoppe.)

Chimichurri Steak, Buffalo Chicken Pizza and Pan Seared Teriyaki Salmon are a few examples of new food items.

The day I visited, guests were lined up at the food station, Stir-Fry/Performance Foods, where workers were extremely busy dishing out a variety of made-to-order vegetable stir-fries.

No shortage of vegetarian or vegan dishes in this food area.

Cody said Holy Cross Dining addresses all dietary concerns, and special food allergy services are available to students.

Linda Nardella is director of Holy Cross Dining; Marty Dudek, associate director. Dudek also was the project manager for this summer's Kimball renovation.

Holy Cross Dining has won many national awards, and it has a strong commitment to sustainability and sourcing locally. Currently, 20 percent of all dining products are sourced from local growers or producers, said Cody. The department recently purchased china for the dining hall from the only manufacturer that still produces in America, she said. Think Fiesta ware!

Cody said students at Holy Cross expect food to be high-caliber and diverse.

Kimball's renovated space and new menus certainly meet the criteria.

Note: Holy Cross Dining works closely with organizations in the Worcester community, including the Regional Environmental Council of Central Massachusetts. The department for many years has been host for Worcester REC's Slow Food Gala, creating menus based entirely on food sourced from local farms and suppliers, including Worcester REC's own YouthGrow garden.

It also works with local shelters and food pantries to coordinate can drives and food donations throughout the year.

"In the Kitchen," held in the spring in celebration of National Nutrition Month, gave Holy Cross students the opportunity to work side-by-side with Kimball kitchen manager Paul Bartkus and dietitian Kathy Egan to learn cooking basics and explore the latest diet trends. The four cooking classes sold out in less than 48 hours.

Congrats to the Holy Cross Dining team, a truly dedicated group of chefs and foodies!

Robert and Candace Dagnello, owners of the Wonder Bar, 121 Shrewsbury St., Worcester, sent a note to say there will be a yard sale consisting of personal items from the business from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 6. No restaurant items will be sold.

The business was closed this spring and put up for sale.

Stay tuned!

Alina Eisenhauer, executive chef/owner of Sweet Kitchen & Bar, and executive chef Neil Rogers of Volturno, both in Worcester, will cook a dinner at the James Beard House in Manhattan.

The Sept. 19 event, "James Beard: He Said, She Said," will pay homage to the local chefs' idol by serving interpretations of classic Beard recipes in an edible dialogue about American cooking, past and present.

Cost: $130 per person for members of the James Beard Foundation; $170 for general public. Visit www.jamesbeard.org to view the menu, to buy tickets and learn more about the dinner and chefs.

The James Beard Foundation invites guest chefs to the James Beard House to prepare their own signature cuisine or cook around a particular theme.

Diners are invited to walk through the Beard House kitchen to meet the night's chefs and then enjoy a reception before the dinner and wine pairings. The evening concludes with a question-and-answer session with the chef or chefs in the dining room.

It will be Eisenhauer's second time as a guest chef at the Beard House, and a first for Rogers. The chefs work at businesses next to each other on Shrewsbury Street.

Rogers won Worcester's Best Chef competition this year, and Eisenhauer was among the judges. Visit www.sweetworcester.com to learn about Eisenhauer's culinary career and achievements.

Rogers has been selected to be a keynote speaker at the 2014 Taste Trekkers Food & Travel Expo, scheduled Oct. 4 in Providence, and he recently joined the board of directors at Lettuce be Local, an organization that connects farms in Central Massachusetts with restaurants, caterers, independently owned businesses and consumers.

Enjoy the James Beard event, chefs.

A new banquet facility at the Mansion at Bald Hill, 29 Plaine Hill Road, Woodstock, is under construction.

The Banquet Center is directly adjacent to the Mansion at Ball Hill Restaurant and will accommodate 270, according to Janet Waterman, general manager.

Construction is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Weddings, corporate meetings and other social events will be booked in the center, said Waterman, who explained that the new facility would provide more event options for large and small parties.

The outdoor tent on the grounds at Bald Hill will continue to be available for weddings and private functions, said Waterman.

Visit www.mansionatbaldhill.com for more information about accommodations, the restaurant and the new facility. Contact Janet Waterman at info@mansionatbaldhill.com to book an event.

This month, the Finger Lakes wineries throughout New York State celebrate the region's leading varietal, Riesling.

The celebration includes Riesling tasting events at restaurants, wine bars, wine shops, wineries and specialty events, according to the Finger Lakes Wine Alliance.

Highlights:

The 2013 Finger Lakes Riesling Launch is sponsor of the Annual Harvest, which will take place at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 18 at Union Square Park in New York City. Seventeen Finger Lakes Riesling producers will be paired with "chefs from the hottest and most popular restaurants in the Union Square District," to enhance the Riesling tasting experience for guests through pairings with farm-fresh culinary creations. Visit http://harvest.unionsquarenyc.org for more information.

Finger Lakes Rieslings will also be featured at the New York City Wine Riot. The Riesling Launch will have a wine booth Sept. 19-20 at the event in the 69th Regiment Armory in Manhattan. More information, http://secondglass.com.

The Riesling Hour is a Finger Lakes Riesling virtual tasting scheduled from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sept. 27. Wine enthusiasts nationwide are invited to pour a glass of their favorite Finger Lakes Riesling and join the conversation by sharing their photos and thoughts about the Riesling in their glass via Twitter using #FLXRiesling or the Finger Lakes Wine Facebook Fan Page.

For more information about all events, visit www.RieslingLaunch.com.

The wineries of the Finger Lakes region have been international recognized for their award-winning Rieslings in such publications as Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast, Food & Wine, etc. Almost every winery produces at least one Riesling brand.

Ask about New York State Rieslings the next time you're in your favorite wine store.